Nigeria has proposed building the African Union Peace Fund up to $10 billion over the next decade, in a pitch that ties far larger African financing for peace operations to tighter spending discipline across the continental body, according to a statement from the finance minister's office reported by Okay News and News Central TV.

Source: Okay News

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele, Nigeria's Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, presented the proposal on Friday, November 13, at the 27th Extraordinary Session of the AU Executive Council on Financing the Union, held in Accra, Ghana. The statement was signed by his press secretary, Maryann Duke, Okay News reported.

Source: News Central TV

Proposal, not a pledge

The $10 billion figure is Nigeria's proposed target for the whole Union over ten years — yaani an average of $1 billion a year across all member states. It is not a Nigerian cash pledge, and the African Union has not adopted it.

Oyedele said Nigeria remained open to the $1 billion Peace Fund target already on the table, but argued that a $10 billion fund built over ten years would give the Union sustainable financing for peace initiatives. He proposed funding it through member-state levies, philanthropy and African capital, and managing it along sovereign wealth fund principles, with investment returns supporting peace initiatives while protecting the principal.

Source: QNC News

He also called for the interest-only rule to be retained until a sustainable replenishment mechanism is established, cautioning against depleting the fund's principal, and said Nigeria's support for the AU financing options rested on three principles: discipline, efficiency and leverage.

Source: News Central TV

Why Nigeria says the money has to change

Oyedele told the session that member states currently finance only 25 per cent of the organisation's budget and contribute just 4 per cent of programme funding, against a target of 75 per cent — a gap he said leaves the Union dependent on external assistance. He urged the technical experts of the Forum of Finance Ministers, known as F15, to validate projections that could raise member states' contributions to $779 million by 2031, nearly four times the current level.

Source: News Central TV

Nigeria also called for the Accra meeting to produce a concrete implementation work plan, including a directive for the AU Commission to address institutional inefficiencies and report progress at the 2027 mid-year session. What happens next depends on member-state agreement and on whether credible replenishment arrangements follow the proposal.

Source: QNC News